Burgstall Rauhenberg

The Burgstall Rauhenberg stands on a wooded spur above a side valley of the Brunnenwiesbach, about two and a half kilometres west of Ettelried in Bavarian Swabia. The site preserves a medieval earthwork castle of the Rauhenberg or Ettelried lords, dating from the high Middle Ages. It sits on an older spur that drops steeply on three sides, giving natural protection to the trapezoidal inner bailey. The enclosure is typical of small early medieval refuges built during the Hungarian incursions. A curved ditch isolates the plateau from the ridge, while side ditches run along the southern and western edges. The northern ditch has slipped away, leaving a round spoil heap at its western end. In places the ring ditch reaches seven and a half metres deep, and two gate piers still mark the original entrance on the eastern side. Excavation hollows show where timber buildings once stood, and the largest hollow in the west probably held a keep built of local Nagelfluh conglomerate. The site marks the transition from wooden earthwork castles to stone-built noble seats. Archaeologists regard it as an important example for regional castle studies. Visitors walk a quiet forest path to the spur and see the deep ditches, the gate remains and scattered rock ledges where stone was quarried. From the plateau there are wide views over the Zusam and Reichenbach valleys, linking the earthworks to the surrounding early Iron Age hilltop enclosures and burial mounds.